USC vs Rutgers football player stats: Game highlights and analysis ft. Miller Moss

The USC Trojans (4-4) defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-4) 42-20 on Saturday in a game the Trojans dominated from the start. USC scored 14 points in the first three quarters to easily defeat the Scarlet Knights.

Heading into the game, USC was looking to return to the win column after losing each of its last three games. Most recently, the Trojans had lost 29-28 to Maryland. The Scarlet Knights were also on a three-game losing streak, having lost 35-32 to UCLA last Saturday. However, their losing streak was extended to four games with their loss to USC.

USC vs Rutgers player stats

#1 USC QB Miller Moss

Passing	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	Int
Miller Moss	20	28	308	2	0

Rushing	Car	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Miller Moss	1	7	7	1	7

#2 Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis

Passing	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	Int
Athan Kaliakmanis	27	47	313	1	0

Rushing	Car	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Athan Kaliakmanis	9	-1	-0.1	14	0

Based on the quarterbacks's stats, it is not immediately clear why USC had a much more effective offense. Moss and Kaliakmanis threw for nearly identical numbers of yards and did not have any turnovers. Additionally, neither was very effective as a runner.

However, the key to USC's offense was efficiency. Although both quarterbacks threw for a little over 300 yards, Moss was much more effective in his throws. He attempted 19 fewer passes than Kaliakmanis and completed seven fewer, but he only had five fewer yards. So, when he was throwing the ball, he completed his passes more and got more yards.

USC performance analysis

Efficiency was the name of the game for USC, which did not stand out in any area compared to Rutgers, but it scored more than double the points. The Trojans had 443 yards gained and 23 first downs, which are both around the same as the Scarlet Knights, but USC was more efficient.

The Trojans gained 11 yards per pass and 5.9 yards per rush, which meant they had only six third downs and did not need to risk losing the ball.

Rutgers performance analysis

The Scarlett Knights gained 434 yards, which was only a little under USC, and had 27 first downs, better than USC. However, efficiency was an issue for the Scarlet Knights as they only gained 6.7 yards per pass and 2.9 yards per rush. So, although they converted third downs at the same rate (50%) since they had 22 of them, they gave up the ball more.

USC upcoming games

• Nov 2: @ Washington
• Nov 16: vs Nebraska
• Nov 23: @ UCLA
• Nov 30: vs Notre Dame

Rutgers upcoming games

• Nov 9: vs Minnesota
• Nov 16: @ Maryland
• Nov 23: vs Illinois
• Nov 30: @ Michigan State